Ken Borland

The Cape Cobras also suffered a parlous mid-innings collapse as they went down to the Dolphins on the first day of the CSA T20 Challenge at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.

Chasing 156 for victory, the Cobras were cruising on 70 for one after 10 overs with Tony de Zorzi (39) and Kyle Verreynne (29) well set.

But Proteas star Keshav Maharaj bowled De Zorzi in the 11^th over and also dismissed Verreynne, well-stumped by Grant Roelofsen off a superb piece of slow left-arm spin, in the same over.

Fellow spinner Prenelan Subrayen also chipped in with the wicket of George Linde (1) and the Cobras subsided to 106 for seven, mirroring the Knights’ collapse earlier in the day against the Titans when they slumped to 116 all out from 84 for two.

Some lusty blows by Christiaan Jonker (41* off 25) lifted the Cobras to 141 for seven, but they were also-rans by then, ultimately losing by 14 runs.

Maharaj finished with magnificent figures of four for 15 in his four overs, while off-spinner Subrayen was also excellent with one for 19.

The Dolphins, who won the toss and batted, found themselves in trouble in the first half of their innings as they struggled to 63 for four.

There were two run outs in their top-order and they were the vital wickets of the in-form Grant Roelofsen for a duck and kingpin David Miller for 16.

But an inspired innings of 59 off 39 balls by Khaya Zondo shifted the momentum away from the Cobras and lifted the Dolphins to 155 for eight.

Andile Phehlukwayo (13) and Robbie Frylinck (17) played their part in consecutive partnerships of 43 and 48 with Zondo.

Zondo fell in the final over and was the middle victim in a superb hat-trick by rookie left-arm spinner Siyabonga Mahima.

The 24-year-old from Mpumalanga finished with four for 18 in three overs having been thrust into bowling the last over in a surprise move by captain Tony de Zorzi. It was the fourth hat-trick in South African T20 franchise history.

The upkeep of the Kingsmead pitch for the duration of the intense two-week long CSA T20 Challenge looks like it could be a challenge given the clatter of wickets in the first match between the victorious Titans and the Knights on Friday.

All 17 matches of the tournament will be played at Kingsmead in a biosecure bubble and the opening clash was a low-scoring affair as the Knights suffered a stunning collapse.

Having won the toss and batted, the Knights raced to 84 for two after just eight overs thanks to Patrick Kruger (22 off 13) and the fiery Andries Gous (35 off 19).

But on a dry, slowish pitch that is only going to deteriorate, they then crashed to 116 all out. That they got that far was thanks largely to captain Pite van Biljon scoring a run-a-ball 33.

It was paceman Lizaad Williams (3-0 20-2) who started the collapse by dismissing Gous and the experienced Farhaan Behardien with successive deliveries.

Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (4-0-20-3) then removed three batsmen in quick succession, and the quality pace bowling of Lungi Ngidi (3-0-19-2) and Chris Morris (3.2-0-10-1) did the rest.

Eight wickets had fallen for just 32 runs and Migael Pretorius (4-1-26-3) then blasted out the first three Titans batsmen with just seven runs on the board.

But Dean Elgar (37) and skipper Heinrich Klaasen (54* off 40) added 76 for the fourth wicket to rescue the Titans innings.

And Morris then slammed 21 not out off eight balls to slam the door shut on the Knights.

They may not have Quinton de Kock nor Faf du Plessis, but the Titans are not in any way uncomfortable with their absence as they start their CSA T20 Challenge campaign against the Knights at Kingsmead on Friday morning, thanks to the riches in playing depth they have and their unavailability being communicated well in advance.

Even without De Kock, who is on a “mental health break”, and Du Plessis, heading to the Pakistan Super League to join Dale Steyn at the Quetta Gladiators, the Titans have six White Proteas to squeeze into the five slots allowed for them and it seems champion off-spinner Simon Harmer will not be playing in the opening game on Friday, thus allowing batsman Theunis de Bruyn to get a shot. The other White Proteas in the squad are captain Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar and Chris Morris, who on Thursday became the most expensive overseas player ever in the IPL.

“We’re probably a bit overstocked to be honest and Quinny and Faf not being available was communicated to us early on. It wouldn’t make sense to force them to play. Quinny was very open and honest with us a while ago that he would need a break after the Pakistan tour and Faf put in his request to skip the competition a while ago too. It doesn’t make sense to force people to play when they’re not in a good space, they’re unlikely to perform well,” Titans CEO Jacques Faul told The Citizen on Thursday.

Pace bowler Kyle Abbott is another conspicuous absentee from the Titans squad having only played the one Momentum One-Day Cup match for them since his high-profile signing. But Faul confirmed they “still have long-term plans” for Abbott, who has played 11 Tests, 28 ODIs and 21 T20s for the Proteas.

The Knights only have three Proteas in their squad – veteran Farhaan Behardien, Pite van Biljon and new international Jacques Snyman, but it is surely only a matter of time before Raynard van Tonder and Migael Pretorus earn their first caps and the Central Franchise are a well-balanced, powerful outfit.

South African cricket is already battling to keep up with the richer nations on the international stage and a working paper put together by one of the franchise’s financial managers now shows that domestic cricket is facing significant cutbacks that will definitely affect the quality of play, despite the restructuring that Cricket South Africa are forging ahead with.

In the same press conference this week in which CSA Director of Cricket Graeme Smith spoke about the gap widening between the Haves (The Big Three of England, Australia and India) and the Have-Nots (where South Africa now find themselves), he also said the new domestic system approved by the Members Council is being rolled out and should be operational next season.

But in a working paper prepared for the board of one of the unions a financial manager has said “the revenue model is not sustainable” and “I cannot foresee a 12 or 14-team first-class affiliate structure being financially viable”.

The working paper says it costs around R12 million a year to run a franchise, excluding player contracts, and to run one of the bigger stadiums costs about R8 million a year. The franchises received R5 million a year from CSA, but as part of the Project 654 cutbacks, there is set to be an 8% decrease in this allowance, plus the grant from the Mzansi Super League is going to be cut from R5 million to just R500 000.

CSA will also give a grant of R435 500 for team operating expenses, but the budget for a franchise team this season shows that they spend R650 000 on clothing and R293 000 on balls alone, as well as vehicle costs of R227 000. The teams will receive a R15 000 hosting fee from CSA per match day, but the working paper points out that hosting a four-day game costs R23 500 per day and a one-day or T20 match costs about R168 000.

“Teams are going to have to find sponsorships of around R8 million to bridge the gap but having limited televised games means current sponsorship revenues are not sustainable. The revenue model is not sustainable and retrenchments will have to be considered and our matches will have to go to less expensive venues. We are also seeing a decline in suite sales and in-stadium advertising.

“But even with the restructured revenue model, hosting games at smaller venues, retrenchments and scaling down operational costs, I cannot foresee a 12- or 14-team first-class affiliate structure being financially viable,” the financial manager said.

The downsizing of the investment in each provincial side, which is inevitable with more teams taking part in the A Section, could well affect the quality of players produced for the Proteas by the domestic pipeline. Just as you’re not going to get a jumbo jet taking off from a small airport like the ones in Pietermaritzburg or Margate, so we cannot expect a lesser domestic structure, both in terms of competitiveness and resources, to launch the careers of world-beating stars.